An apparatus for blasting a media onto a surface comprises an oscillating nozzle, a mount and a power source. The mount attaches the nozzle to tooling, enabling the nozzle to be raised and lowered about a vertical axis, and enabling the nozzle to be repositioned about a horizontal axis. The power source enables the nozzle to oscillate. The blasting media is sprayed through the nozzle onto the surface. The oscillating nozzle projects an enlarged dispersion pattern of the blasting media onto the surface being treated. The apparatus may include a basket positioned near the mount, enabling an operator to be positioned upon a truss and control the blasting of the media onto the surface, the basket being mounted via a swivel bearing, enabling the basket to self-level. Also, the media blasting apparatus may be controlled by an operator positioned in a remote control computer area.

An integrated liquidjet system capable of stripping, prepping and coating a part includes a cell defining an enclosure, a jig for holding the part inside the cell, an ultrasonic nozzle having an ultrasonic transducer for generating a pulsed liquidjet, a coating particle source for supplying coating particles to the nozzle, a pressurized liquid source for supplying the nozzle with a pressurized liquid to enable the nozzle to generate the pulsed liquidjet to sequentially strip, prep and coat the part, a high-voltage electrode and a ground electrode inside the nozzle for charging the coating particles, and a human-machine interface external to the cell for receiving user commands and for controlling the pulsed liquidjet exiting from the nozzle in response to the user commands.

A method of stripping, prepping and coating a surface comprises first stripping the exiting coating from a surface, using continuous or pulsed fluid jet, followed by prepping the surface by the same fluid jet. The method also provides entraining particles into a fluid stream, if desired to generate a particle-entrained fluid stream that is directed at the surface to be stripped and prepped. The particles act as abrasive particles for prepping the surface to a prescribed surface roughness required for subsequent application of a coating to the surface. The method then entails coating the surface by electrically charging particles having the same chemical composition as the particles used to prep the surface. Finally, a charged-particle-entrained fluid stream is directed at high speed at the charged surface to coat the surface. The particles form both mechanical and electronic bonds with the surface.

An ultrasonic impact grinding assembly includes a vessel having an open top disposed opposite a base and configured to contain an abrasive slurry, at least one mixing mechanism disposed in the vessel, a fixture disposed on the base of the vessel and configured to retain a workpiece for ultrasonic impact grinding within the abrasive slurry, and an ultrasonic impact grinding machine having a tool tip disposed to contact the abrasive slurry in the vessel during an ultrasonic impact grinding operation.

An apparatus for blasting a media onto a surface comprises an oscillating nozzle, a mount and a power source. The mount attaches the nozzle to tooling, enabling the nozzle to be raised and lowered about a vertical axis, and enabling the nozzle to be repositioned about a horizontal axis. The power source enables the nozzle to oscillate. The blasting media is sprayed through the nozzle onto the surface. The oscillating nozzle projects an enlarged dispersion pattern of the blasting media onto the surface being treated. The apparatus may include a basket positioned near the mount, enabling an operator to be positioned upon a truss and control the blasting of the media onto the surface, the basket being mounted via a swivel bearing, enabling the basket to self-level. Also, the media blasting apparatus may be controlled by an operator positioned in a remote control computer area.

A method for cutting electrode foils (1) by means of a particle stream (2) is proposed. A cutting device (4) for cutting electrode foils (1) that are intended for use in a battery cell is also specified which comprises at least one nozzle (5) with an outlet (6), one cutting tool (7), one vibration device (8) for exciting at least the cutting tool (7) to vibration (14), one particle feed line (9) for supplying at least particles (13), and one gas feed line (10) for supplying a first gas stream (12), wherein the particles (13) and the first gas stream (12) can be mixed in the cutting device (4) to form a particle stream (2) and fed via the nozzle (5) to the outlet (6), wherein the cutting tool (7) and the outlet (6) can be arranged above the electrode foil (1) with separation (11) from a surface (3) of the electrode foil (1), and wherein the electrode foil (1) can be cut at least as a result of the particle stream (2) and the vibrations (14) of the cutting tool (7).

The present invention pertains to a method of applying surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) with a plurality of balls for treating surfaces of metallic alloys under a set of specific conditions in order to obtain a metal substrate with high yield strength and hardness, low cytotoxicity, high cytocompability and hemocompatibility suitable for medical implant. The plurality of balls used in the present invention comprises 316L stainless steel balls or zirconium oxide (ZrO.sub.2) balls.

An integrated liquidjet system capable of stripping, prepping and coating a part includes a cell defining an enclosure, a jig for holding the part inside the cell, an ultrasonic nozzle having an ultrasonic transducer for generating a pulsed liquidjet, a coating particle source for supplying coating particles to the nozzle, a pressurized liquid source for supplying the nozzle with a pressurized liquid to enable the nozzle to generate the pulsed liquidjet to sequentially strip, prep and coat the part, a high-voltage electrode and a ground electrode inside the nozzle for charging the coating particles, and a human-machine interface external to the cell for receiving user commands and for controlling the pulsed liquidjet exiting from the nozzle in response to the user commands.

An ultrasonically pulsating high-pressure fluid jet coupled with a suction system serve as a tissue harvesting device. The pulsated fluid jet disrupts tissue, permitting both harvesting of cells for therapeutic delivery, and as a surgical dissector and aspirator, for liposuction, soft tissue dissection, etc. The jet is delivered to the target tissue through a cannula, coupled to an aspiration system. An ultrasonically actuated rod vibrates within the cannula engaging a nozzle, disrupting the fluid jet into droplets, permitting tuning of the jet to the resonant frequencies and impact pressures necessary to dissociate the target tissue. A suction recovery system may be separated or integrally formed with the fluid jet cannula, and is linked by a closed tubing system appropriate for sterilization and subsequent delivery of the harvested cells/tissues with or without growth factor or matrix addition for human re-implantation or for in vitro expansion for later re-implantation.

A method of treatment of a cutting piece (2) is provided. This method includes a first step in which a cutting surface (5) of this cutting piece (2) is subjected to shots thrown by an ultrasonic shot peening apparatus (10) to become a cutting surface (5) with shot impacts, and a second step in which the cutting surface (5) with shot impacts is grinded over a chosen thickness to become a treated cutting surface (5).